 | Gary Potts is the owner and operator of Professional Automotive Detailing. Gary was born and raised in Wichita where he graduated from Butler County Community College with an associate degree in business. He has been in the automotive industry for past 24 years, and has owned his businesses since 1998. If you have any questions call him at (316) 871-1025 or stop by at 3027 S. Broadway; pottsprodetail@yahoo.com |
Automotive Service & Repair
2010-11-01 13:31:00
Preparing your auto exterior for winter
Question: Is there anything that I need to do to prepare my car for the winter months ahead?
Answer: Late Fall is one of the most important times of year for you to detail your car. Winter is very hard on your car with extreme temperature changes, rain, sleet, snow, sand, salt and other chemicals that are used on our roads. You need to clean your car thoroughly and then seal and protect it from all of those damaging elements.
Protecting your car’s paint / clear coat finish for winter is of utmost importance! Following are some steps you need to take to make sure your car is protected for the harsh weather that is ahead of us.
1. Wash your car. You must always wash your car before waxing or polishing it (or you’ll be sealing in the dirt). It is important to use a car wash soap before waxing to ensure that you don’t have any remaining dirt or soap residue after rinsing.
2. Wax your car. Your car wax coat will be the final line of defense between the damaging winter elements and your paint/clear coat finish.
3. Seal the car wax with a paint sealant. The paint sealant stays above the wax layer and will be the first barrier that comes into contact with the salt, snow, etc.
In order to NOT be protecting your car again next month, you need the layers of protection that you will gain by not missing one of the important steps needed to assure your car is properly protected.
Taking the time to detail your exterior properly will ensure that your car is protected until spring.
You can keep your windows protected and help them, and your visibility, in the weather months with the ice, snow and rain by polishing your car’s windshield and windows.
Keep your windshield clean and dry through the winter.
Clean your auto glass. It is recommended that you use a professional grade cleaner because you will need a spotless glass surface to polish.
It is very important to not forget about protecting your wheels and tires for the winter months as well! You need to clean, seal and protect your wheels and tires for winter.
1. Clean your tires using a good tire cleaner. You need to use a heavy duty tire cleaner to get all of the dirt, grime and oil off of your tires before you seal them. Cleaning your tires removes dirt from the pores of your tire rubber.
2. Seal your tires using a good tire gloss/seal. Tire gloss is not just for cosmetic purposes. Much like wax and sealant on your paint, a good tire gloss will seal and protect your tires against dirt and moisture. The summer heat can cause microscopic cracks in your tires and even dry rot. Moisture gets into those cracks during the winter and expands as it freezes, expanding the cracks in your tires. You must seal your tires to prevent further damage throughout the cold winter.
3. Clean the oil, dirt and grime your wheel as well using a good wheel cleaner.
4. Polish and seal your wheels. Your wheels are corroded by the dirt, rocks and chemicals that they pick up from the road. The chemicals used to control snow and ice can be especially damaging to your wheels. Even if you have factory stock wheels, you need to protect them through the winter with a good aluminum and chrome polish.
While this seems like alot of steps to do, it is incredibly important to not miss any of the protective steps to insure that your car will be adequately protected against the weather and harsh chemicals on the road ways during the winter months.
Your car requires the maximum amount of protection to make it through the winter undamaged. It endures harsh conditions and often doesn’t get the care that it needs due to foul weather.
